Take it to Heart: Miami Dade College Celebrates Miami’s Culture with Arts & Letters Event

Heart of the Arts: Arts & Letters Poster

Miami, March 18, 2013 -
Art comes in many forms: performing arts, visual arts, music, and literature, among other genres. This year Miami Dade College (MDC) will commemorate Miami’s unique, artistic flair with the 21st anniversary of Arts & Letters, April 1-10, at its Kendall Campus,11011 SW 104 Street, Miami, FL. This ten-day affair will include poetry readings, photography exhibits, arts and crafts, live music, and many more activities the whole family can enjoy.

All the festivities are free and open to the public.

Below is a sampling of the planned events.

Monday, April 1

Giant Insect Takes over Kendall Campus!

The Visual Arts Student Organization (VASO) will unleash an insect that will make its way with menacing maneuvers from the Martin and Pat Fine Center for the Arts to Building R. VASO members will perform their own whimsical version of the Jitterbug dance.

10 a.m. / Starts at Building M, ends at Building R

Tuesday, April 2

Artist Derrick Adams

Derrick Adams, a multidisciplinary New York-based artist, will give a presentation about his artistic process. Adams studied at Pratt Institute, Columbia University, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He is the recipient of a 2009 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award and an honored finalist for the 2011 William H. Johnson Prize.

2 p.m. – 3 p.m. / McCarthy Auditorium, Room 6120

Kids’ Choice Story Contest

Kids will do the judging! Bring your children (ages 5-11) to this story contest where the kids will decide the winners of original stories by Miami Dade College students. Rita Fernandez-Sterling and Nancy Yi Ortiz will direct the event and present awards. Student writers’ submissions are coordinated by Marta Magellan. The stories will be read by Sherri Ahern, Sofia Funk, Elena Perez-Mirabal and Monica Plata. Refreshments will be served.

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. / Library, Building 2, Second Floor

Wednesday, April 3

Heart of the Arts Photography Exhibit

This juried exhibition displays works by MDC photography students with the theme Heart of the Arts. Coordinated by Tony Chirinos

9 a.m. – 11 a.m. / Library, Building 2, Second Floor

Keynote Speaker

Jody Steigerwill deliver a speech on the importance of the arts in the community. Steiger has divided her career between the performing arts - as both designer and director - and the fields of educational innovation and curriculum planning. She holds a doctorate degree in education with special emphasis on the role of the arts in education and social development. She’s a member of the board of AcciónArte and the Board of the Orchestra of the Americas and the Fundación ARDE (Arte para el Desarrollo), and the former director of the National Theatre of Costa Rica.

12:15 – 1 p.m / McCarthy Auditorium, Room 6120

What is Beauty?

Explore the nature of beauty through the prism of philosophy in this interactive workshop.Share, develop, and discover the aesthetics among the arts, nature, and human beings. Participate in a discussion on Plato, Kant, and David Hume. Our focus is on nurturing and enhancing our personal views in the context of understanding the objective nature of beauty. Facilitated by Allen McPhee

2 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. / Room R-403

Rehearsal

Six Characters in Search of an Authorby Luigi Pirandello calls into question the levels of theatricality and contrivance inherent in all plays. Be one of the first to attend this classic, made up of student cast members.

Directed by Brad Beckman

7 p.m. – 10 p.m. / Theater, Building M

Thursday, April 4

Emerging Artists: 47th Annual Juried Student Exhibition

Enjoy original works in all mediums by Kendall Campus art students.

6 p.m. – 9 p.m. / Art Gallery, Room M-123

Friday, April 5

Originals

The Miami Music Revolution Student Organization performs original compositions and arrangements.

7 p.m. – 8 p.m. McCarthy Auditorium / Room 6120

Wednesday, April 10

Tim O’Brien and The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien, author of the lauded The Things They Carried, a Big Read choice, will read from his work and share his thoughts on being an author. The details of warfare may have changed since Vietnam, but O’Brien’s semi-autobiographical account of a young platoon on a battlefield without a front, dodging sniper fire and their own misgivings, continues to win legions of dedicated readers, both in uniform and out. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literary reading in American popular culture.

Miami Dade College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate and baccalaureate degrees.
Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Miami Dade College.
Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin,
disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, or genetic information. Contact the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs/ADA Coordinator, at 305.237.2577 for information.